How To Customize Your Microsoft Edge Start Page for Speed & Focus

1. The Drawbacks of Microsoft Edge’s Default Homepage

Microsoft Edge, the default browser for Windows operating systems, comes with a default homepage packed with various content—including news headlines, weather updates, frequently visited site icons, and trending topics. While this “information-rich” design may seem convenient at first glance, it introduces two significant drawbacks that hinder user experience, especially for those using the browser for work.

First, slow loading speed. Every time you launch Edge or open a new tab, the browser needs to load a large amount of graphical and textual data simultaneously: real-time news lists, dynamic weather information, and thumbnails for popular websites. This process can take several seconds or longer, especially if you have a poor internet connection or a low-spec computer. The waiting time not only delays your workflow but also creates frustration at the start of your task.

Second, distraction from work efficiency. The trending news, entertainment updates, and viral content on the default homepage are designed to catch attention. This often leads to unintended distractions: when you open Edge to start working, you might accidentally click on a news headline and spend minutes reading irrelevant content, deviating from your original work plan. For users who need to stay focused, this distraction directly reduces overall productivity.

These pain points make “customizing the Edge homepage” a crucial solution—whether you set it to a work-related website or a blank page, you can effectively fix slow loading and eliminate distractions.

2. Basic Step: Access Edge’s Settings Interface

Before customizing the homepage, you first need to navigate to Edge’s core settings interface. This step is simple, consistent across all Edge versions, and serves as the foundation for all subsequent customization. Here’s how to do it:

1. Launch Microsoft Edge. Ensure the browser is running (if it’s closed, open it via the desktop shortcut, Start Menu, or taskbar icon).
2. Locate the three-dot icon in the top-right corner of the Edge window—this is Edge’s “Settings and more” button, represented by three vertical dots. Click this icon with your mouse.
3. After clicking the three-dot icon, a drop-down menu will appear. Scroll down the menu to find the “Settings” option (usually marked with a gear-shaped icon). Click “Settings” to enter Edge’s global settings page.

Once you’re in the Settings page, all configurations related to the homepage and startup options will be managed here. All subsequent customization steps will be based on this interface.

3. Customization Option 1: Set a Single Specific Homepage

If you want Edge to open a single frequently used website (such as a work platform, search engine, or online document tool) every time you launch it, follow these steps to achieve the “launch and open target website” effect:

1. In Edge’s Settings page, find the “On startup, home, and new tabs” option in the left sidebar (this option usually has an icon related to “homepage” or “startup” and is located near the top of the menu). Click to enter the configuration interface for this module.
2. In the “On startup” section on the right, the system provides three default options: “Open a new tab,” “Open tabs from your previous session,” and “Open these pages.” Here, you need to click and select the “Open these pages” option (a blue checkmark will appear next to the option after selection).
3. After selecting “Open these pages,” an “Add a new page” button will appear below. Click this button, and a pop-up input box will appear.
4. In the input box, enter the full URL of the website you want to set as the default homepage (for example, if you want to set Baidu as your homepage, enter “https://www.baidu.com”; if you want to set your company’s work platform, enter the full link of that platform). After entering the URL, click the “Add” button.
5. No additional saving is required after adding (the system automatically saves the settings). Close the current Edge browser window.
6. Double-click the Edge icon to restart the browser. You’ll notice that Edge no longer loads the default info page; instead, it directly opens the specific website you just added. The single specific homepage setup is complete.

4. Customization Option 2: Set Multiple Frequently Used Homepages

For users who need to use multiple work-related websites simultaneously (such as opening the company’s OA system, online collaboration tool, and project management platform at the same time), you can set “multiple custom homepages” to achieve the effect of “automatically opening multiple frequently used websites when launching Edge.” Here are the detailed steps:

1. Repeat the first two steps of “Option 1”: Navigate to the “On startup, home, and new tabs” configuration interface, and select the “Open these pages” option in the “On startup” section.
2. If you already added one website in “Option 1,” the added URL will be displayed under “Open these pages,” and an “Add a new page” button will still be visible next to the URL (if no website has been added, follow Step 3 of “Option 1” to add the first website first).
3. Click the “Add a new page” button to bring up the URL input box again. Enter the URL of the second frequently used website you want to open automatically (e.g., “https://work.weixin.qq.com”) and click “Add” after entering.
4. To add more websites, repeat Step 3: click “Add a new page” multiple times and enter different URLs. The system supports adding multiple custom websites (there is no clear limit on the number, but it’s recommended to add only what you need to avoid increasing loading pressure during startup).
5. After adding all required websites, close the current Edge browser window (ensure all Edge windows are closed to fully exit the browser).
6. Restart Edge by double-clicking its icon. The browser will automatically open all added custom websites in separate tabs—each website corresponds to one tab. You no longer need to open them one by one manually, saving a lot of operation time.

5. Customization Option 3: Set a Blank Homepage (Max Speed & No Distractions)

If you pursue “the fastest startup speed” and “complete freedom from information distractions,” setting a “blank homepage” is the best choice. A blank page requires no loading of graphics or text resources, ensuring the fastest startup speed while eliminating all irrelevant distractions—ideal for work scenarios that demand high focus. Here’s how to set it up:

1. Navigate to the “On startup, home, and new tabs” configuration interface (same as the first step of the previous two options) and select the “Open these pages” option in the “On startup” section.
2. Click the “Add a new page” button. Instead of entering a regular website URL in the pop-up input box, enter the special blank page command: “about:blank” (note the English colon and lowercase letters—do not make a typo).
3. After entering “about:blank,” click the “Add” button. You’ll see “about:blank” displayed under “Open these pages,” indicating the blank page has been added successfully.
4. If you want the blank page to be your only homepage, delete any previously added website URLs (click the “×” icon next to the URL to delete). If you want to keep other websites along with the blank page, leave the existing links intact.
5. Close Edge and restart it. The browser will now open a completely blank page (white background with no text, images, or icons), and the blank homepage setup is complete.

With this setting, Edge will launch at maximum speed, and you’ll be free from all information distractions—helping you enter a focused work state quickly.

6. Notes & a Pending Issue to Address

After completing the homepage customization above, there are two key points to note, plus one pending issue that will be addressed in a future guide:

1. First, regarding saving and modifying settings. Edge’s homepage settings use an “auto-save” mechanism—you don’t need to click a “Save” button after adding or deleting websites; the system records changes in real time. To modify the homepage later (e.g., change a specific website, add/remove multiple pages), simply re-enter the “On startup, home, and new tabs” interface and repeat the corresponding steps.
2. Second, regarding the “Open tabs from your previous session” option. If you occasionally need to restore tabs you closed earlier (e.g., accidentally closing a work page), you can temporarily switch to “Open tabs from your previous session” in the “On startup” section. Edge will then restore all tabs from your last session when launched. After use, switch back to “Open these pages” to revert to your custom homepage.
3. Finally, a pending issue: The current setup only fixes the “homepage when launching Edge.” However, when you click the “New Tab” button while using Edge, the browser still opens the default info page (not your custom homepage or blank page). To fix the “new tab” display, additional configuration is required—this will be explained in detail in a future tutorial, so stay tuned for more guidance to fully customize your Edge experience.

7. Demo Video

You can watch the following demo video by select the subtitle to your preferred subtitle language.